20" rim and tire question

[Deuteronomy31:6]

Hello, new to the forum. Actually I decided to buy a boxster over MY09 TT quattro from reading up on the helpful threads. My question is how will 20" rims effect driving. I know 19 is preferred but I have a great deal tht will save me over $1k on 20's over the 19's. I will use the money saved on some high performance tires, which lead me to the nxt question. Any suggestions on tires, right now I'm looking at PS2 or Pirrelle Nero both running about $1500 for set. My boxster (non-s) is for wkend driving on nice sharp hilly roads. I'm not about to drag race the car but my friends and I drive pretty aggressively on the empty back roads of Arkansas. Thnk you ahead for those who contribute. Also rims are 23.2 lbs each

[Deuteronomy31:6]

Oops noticed a lot of spelling errors, sorry for tht.

[blackcrow]

...new to the forum, myself. Either we are new or there's not much going on here... maybe our model is not popular? As far as your question, two things pop to my mind, unsprung weight and inertia. I have a friend that rides on 20's on his 987 and the tires themselves have to be so low profile (30's) that the resultant ride is way to harsh for me. Our 987's are not torque machines, so its going to cost some horsepower to get rollin' and some brake power to get stopin'

If bling is your thing, then don't worry about performance. Otherwise maybe 18" or 19" light wheels should do the trick, I perceive the Boxster as a sharp precision machine where power to weight ratio and handling is what the trick should be about?!

[art123]

I wouldn't recommend going above 19" rims for good road conditions and 18" for "ok" roads.If you go above 19" you will crack and chip your rims and you'll have to get new ones.

[efasu]

I am new also and enjoy the forum. For what it is worth my MY06 S has 18 in wheels and the ride and handling are more than adequate. To me the car handles like a dream.

I believe others are right, the larger the tires, the lower the profile and the more harsh the ride is. So you have to factor all of this in.

[phillipj]

A Boxster was never meant to ride on 20"s. Even the 996 is not real happy on 20's. I agree with the other posters.. The car will handle best with the 18's. You can go to the 19's if you don't mind sacrificing a bit of handling.

Good luck and..

:welcome:

[renzop]

I do not understand why seemingly knowledgeable people want larger and larger rims. It goes against all logic.

1) Larger rims cost more

2) Larger rims weigh more - and its the worst kind of weight you can add to a car. It's called unsprung weight and increases in unsprung weight make handling worse by a factor of 4 over adding weight in the body.

3) Larger rims are less protected from pothole damage

4) Larger rims ride rougher - see unsprung weight above

5) Larger rims will more quickly wear out other suspension parts like shocks, bearings and bushings

6) Larger rims are harder to balance and lose their balance more frequently.

There is only one logical reason to get larger rims - if you have large brake rotors that the stock rims will not clear. That's why you see race cars with big rims. Perhaps that's where the general public got the idea.

Stick with 18" wheels. Don't be a dedicated follower of fashion.

[Dr.Strangepork]

I had 19s on a previous car and while they looked good they made the car frustratingly slow and boggy feeling. I can only imagine 20s...

If you value your car's acceleration at all you'll hate having anything more than 18" wheels on it.